Opening and closing means for doors



06f. 10, 1933. 1 C. BEHNKE 1,930,120

OPENING AND CLOSING MEANS FOR DOORS Filed March 11. 1932 2 Sheecs--Sheerl l 0d- 10, 1933- J. c. BEHNKE 1,930,120

OPENING AND CLOSING MEANS FOR DOORS Filed March ll, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR BY (forz C qrze,

Patented ()ct. 10, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT vOFFICE OPENING AND CLOSING MEANS FOR DOORS John C. Behnke, Irvington, N. J.

Application March 11, 1932. Serial No. 598,141

5 Claims. (Cl. 268-62) rEhis invention relates, generally, to improved line 5 5 in Fig. 3; and Fig. 6' is a top plan means for opening and closing doors; and the View of the tractor member, but showing a modiinvention has reference, more particularly, to a filed means of connection thereof with the maremote control means whereby doors, such as nipulating cables for actuating thesame.

5 garage doors and the like, may be controlled Similar characters of reference are employed and manipulated from a distant point to cause in the above-described views, to indicate coropening or closing movement thereof. responding parts.

This invention has for its principal object to Referring to the drawings, the reference charprovide a remote door controlling and manipuacter l indicates the top plate of the building l0 lating means, whereby doors, such e. g. as garage frame above the doorway, and 11 are the doordoors, may be opened or closed by the operator posts at each side of the doorway to which are from a remote point, and, as in the case of respectively connected, by suitable hinge means garage doors, without necessity of leaving the 12, the respective doors 13 and 14 of a-pair automobile desired to be driven through the of swing doors adapted torv close together across 7 l doorway. the doorway opening.

Another object of this invention is to provide Secured to the top plate 10,or to any other a-novel means for so adjusting an operating suitable part of the building frame, above and means for double swing doors, that the individintermediate the sides of the doorway is a brack ual doors may be respectively opened to stand et plate 15 having an arcuate free edge portion at different angles where this is desirable. along which are spaced a plurality of openings Another object of this invention is to provide 16, preferably in an arcuate row. The reference a novel automatic means in connection with character 17 indicates a track-bar, which is sethe door actuating mechanism for locking the cured at its forward end by a fastening bolt 18, doors against movement in either their closed selectively engaged through one of the openings or open position; said locking means being so 16 of said bracket plate 15, so that-the track-bar arranged and constructed as to be vproof against extends rearwardly or inwardly from thevdooraccidental release, whereby disturbance of the way into the interior of the building. The reardesired opened or closed positions of the doors ward end of said track-bar is secured to and through accidental causes, such e. g. as wind, is supported by a hanger member 19, which deavoided. pends from and is pivotally connected with any Other objects of this invention, not at this suitable part of the building frame within the time more particularly enumerated, will become building interior. For simplicity of illustration,

apparent in the following detailed description the track-bar 17 is shown as a flat bar of recof the same. tangular cross-section, it will be obvious, how- An illustrative embodiment of the novel door ever, that this track-bar may, in practice, be of opening and closing means according to this any desired cross-sectional shape, such e. g. as invention is shown in the accompanying drawprovided by angle or channel iron.

ings, in which:- Movable back and forth upon said track-bar Fig. l is a top plan View and part section 17 is a tractor member. In one form, subject of the door controlling and manipulating means however to more or less variation as may be `;of this invention; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary longideemed desirable, saidV tractor member comprises tudinal vertical section of the tractor member a bottom plate 20 to underlie said track-bar, and

of the door operating means, showing in full side plates 21 which projectv upwardly across the lines, the locking mechanism carried thereby as sides of the track-bar. Mounted in and between disposed to lock the doors in closed position, and said side plates 21, respectively adjacent to ends showing, in dotted lines, said locking mechanism of the tractor member, are transverse shafts 22 as released preparatory to door opening moveupon which are mounted traction wheels 23 ment of said tractor member, said View being which movably support the tractor member so as drawn on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a view, to cause the same to ride upon the upper surface similar to that of Fig. 2, but showing the tracof the track-bar 17. Pivotally mounted onv a tor member positioned at the end of its door shaft 22 for disposition at vthe rearward end of opening movement, and the locking mechanism the tractor member is a rearward latch member disposed to lock the doors in open position; Fig. 4 24 having at its free end an angularly projectis a transverse section, taken on line 4 4 iny ing latch tongue 25, and being further Yprovided Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a transverse section, taken on at the upper side of its pivoted end Witha stopshoulder 26. In like manner, pivotally mounted on the other shaft 22 for disposition at the for- Ward end of the tractor member is a forward latch member 27 having at its free end an angularly projecting latch tongue 28, and also having at its upper side a stop shoulder 29. The said latch members 24 and 27 are disposed respectively between the traction wheels 23 of the respective-shafts 22, and mounted upon and extending longitudinally between said shafts 22, on opposite sides of said latch members, are bearing plates 30 which support a transverse pivot pin 31 for pivotally mounting a lock tumbler 32 for operative disposition between and in longitudinal alignment with said latch members 24 and 27. As operatively arranged, said lock-tumbler 32 has its lower end mounted on said pivot pin 31 so that it extends upwardly from the latter. Extending rearwardly from one side of said locktumbler 32 is a rearward lock arm 33, and extending forwardly from the other side thereof is a similar forward Ylock arm 34. The upper free end of said lock-tumbler, intermediate the rearward and forward lock arms thereof, is provided with weighty portions, preferably in the form of laterally projecting bosses 35 extending respectively from opposite faces thereof.V These bosses 35, by their weight, assure the downward swinging movement of the lock-tumbler under gravity, in one direction or the other as the case may be, when the lock-tumbler is swung in one direction or the other past its dead center position. The upper free end of said lock-tumbler 32 is connected with the respective free ends of the latch members 24 and 27 by oppositely extending links 36 and 37.

Connected with bottom plate 20 of the tractor member is a downwardly off-set lug 38 disposed parallel to said bottom plate, Engaged in and extending vertically between said bottom plate and lug is a pivot bolt 39 with which is pivotally engaged a pair of actuator bars 40 and 41, the respective outer ends of which are pivotally connected with the doors 13 and 14 in any suitable manner. t

Suitably connected with the free end Yof the latch member 24 is a door closing cable 42; this connection may be made by means of va stirrup link 43 as shown, if desired. Rotatable on a journal stud 44, suitably supported in connection with the rearward end portion of said track-bar 17, is a grooved pulley 45 over which runs the door closing cable 42. From said pulley 45, the cable 42 extends-forwardly to and over a pulley 46 mounted in a bearing bracket 47 adjacent to one side of the doorway, thence extending exteriorly of the building to any desired remote point from which it is desired to manipulate the same.

In like manner, there is connectedwith the free end of the latch member 27, by means of a stirrup link 48 if desired, a door opening cable 49. Rotatable on a journal stud 50, suitably supported in connection with the forward end portion of said track-bar 17, is a grooved pulley 51 over which runs the door opening cable 49. From said pulley 51, the cable 42 extends to and over a pulley 52 mounted in said bearing bracket 47,V thence also extending exteriorly of the building to a desired remote' point from which it is desired to manipulate the same.

While I have specified the door opening and closing pulls as comprising cables, which may be either the flexible metallic type, wire, rope or the like; these pulls may consist in link chains of any suitable type or form, if desired. If desired, the pulls, where they extend exteriorly from the building, may be housed by a tubular conduit or pipe 53 through which the same may slidably extend.

The track-bar 17 is provided adjacent to its rearward end with a latch tongue receiving socket or opening 54, and adjacent to its forward end with a similar latch tongue receiving socket or opening 55.

In the use and operation of the mechanisrm when the doors 13--14 are closed, the tractor member occupies its rearwardly or inwardly moved position on the track-bar 17, in which position the latch member 24 is swung downwardly, so that its latch tongue 25 is entered Vinto the socket or opening 54 of the track-bar,

thereby locking the tractor-member against uncontrolled movement, and consequently holding the doors 13-14 locked against accidental opening movement. When the latch member` 24 occupies this interengaged relation to the trackbar socket or opening 54, the lock-tumbler 32 is pulled by the link 36 rearwardly to swing down, under gravitation of its weighty free end,

so that the rearward lock arm 33 thereof drops behind the shoulder 26 of the latch member 24, thereby obstructing any tendency, through jars, vibrations or other uncontrolled causes, of the latch member to jump outr of locked relation to said track-bar, while at the same time such rearward swinging movement of the locktumbler 32 is transmitted through the link 37 so as to raise upward and maintain in upwardly swung inactive position the latch member 27. This relation of the parts is shown in Fig. 2 .of the drawings in full lines.

Assuming it is desired to open the doors 13-14 from a remote point exteriorly of the building; t

in such case, the operator grasps the door opening cable 49 and exerts an outward pull thereupon. The first effect of the outward pulling movement of the-cable 49 is to swing down the latch-member 27 from upraised inactive position, which movement is transmitted through the link 37 to the lock tumbler 32, so that the latter is swung forward and its rearward lockarm 33 upraised out of obstructing relation to the shoulder 26 of latch member 24, whereby the movement of the lock-tumbler may be also transmitted to the latch member 24 to upswing the latter and thus withdraw its latch tongue 25 from the socket or opening 54 to thereby release the tractor member for operative travel on the track-bar 17, all as shown by dotted lines in said Fig. 2.

The tractor member being thus released for travel, continued outward pull exerted upon the door opening cable 49 will draw the tractor member longitudinally outward or forwardly along the track-bar, such movement causing the actuator bars 40 and 41 to respectively push outwardly upon the doors 13 and 14, so that the same are turned outwardly on their hinges 12 to man open positions, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings. By the time the doors 13-14 reach full open position, the tractor member, by its forward movement, brings the latch-member 27 into the position wherein its latch tongue' aligns itself to the socket or opening 55 of the track-bar, and thereupon the pull of the cable 49 swings down the latch-bar so as to carry the latch-tongue 28 into the socket or opening 55,

at the same time swinging forward the locktumbler 32 to position its lock-arm 34 behind .Jim

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and in holding engagement with the shoulder 29 of said latch member 27, whereby the doors l3-14 are locked against accidental closing movement; this disposition of the tractor-member and its latching mechanism being shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

If desired, stop elements 56 may be provided on the actuating bars 40-41 to cooperatewith xed stops 57 on the top plate 10 to arrest the doors 13 and 14 at their fully open position, thereby removing excess strain from the tractor member and track-bar.

When it is desired to close the doors 13-14, the door closing cable 42 is pulled, with the result of first releasing the lock-tumbler 32 and latch-member 27 and thereafter moving the tractor member rearwardly or inwardly along the track-bar until the actuating bars swing the doors to closed positions, and the latchmember 24 interlocks with the track-bar in the position initially described.

It may be found advantageous to connect the pulling cables 42 and 49 directly to the tractor member, by providing bifurcate end portions, as shown at 58 in Fig. 6, engaged with the ends of the shafts 22, or otherwise suitably coupled to the tractor member structure. In such case, the latch-members are suitably connected with the pulling cables, and the bifurcate end portions 58 are allowed suicient initial slackness, so that the latch-members and lock-tumbler are operatively moved while this slackness is taken up, and preparatory to imparting travel to the tractormember` It is sometimes desirable, in the manipulation of garage or other doors, that one door should stand open at a different angular position than stands the other. I have provided a very simple means for adjusting the door controlling and actuating mechanism, so that such result may be obtained. This means comprises perforate bracket plate 15, to which the track-bar 17 may be connected in a selected angular position, by engaging the fastening bolt 18 through a selected opening 16. If it is desired to have the door 14 swing to a wired flung open position than the door 14, the forward end of the track-bar 17 is shifted to the left and secured in an angularly oiT-set position toward the hinged side of door` 13, whereupon the operative stroke of the actuating bar 40 will be prolonged and that of the actuating bar 41 foreshortened. And, vice versa, if the door 14 is desired to be swung to. wider flung open position than the door 13, the trackbar is secured to the bracket plate 15 in a position angularly off-set to the right and toward the hinged side of door 14, as will be obvious. It will also be obvious that to permit the angular adjustment oi the track-bar 17 for the purposes described, the rearward end thereof must be pivotally supported so as to turn about an axis substantially coinciding with the axis of the pivot bolt 39 by which the inner ends of the actuator bars 40 and 41 are connected to the tractor member, as said pivot bolt axis is disposed when the tractor member is retracted to its door closing position. One way in which such pivoting or the rearward end of the track-bar may be accomplished is to suitably shape and pivotally connect to the building frame the hanger member 19, so that the pivoting point is vertically aligned with the pivot bolt 39 of the ractor member when the latter is disposed in retracted position. Such method of supporting the rearward end of the track-bar 17 permits desired angular adjustment thereof without disturbing the normal door-closing position of the actuator bars 40 and 41 as the same extend between the respective doors ,and the-retracted tractor member. i f

From the above description it will be apparent that the present invention provides a very simple and yet eilicient remote control means for building doors; and in connection with which a very simple automatic lock mechanism of novel character and mode of operation is provided in association with the movable tractor member utilized for transmitting movement to the doors,

I am aware that changes could be made in the above described constructions, and many apparently different embodiments of this invention could be Ymade without departing from the scope thereof; conseqently it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

1. In a remote control mechanism for double swinging doors of a doorway, a track-bar having a pivotally supported rearward end portion, means for supporting the forward end of said track-bar including a bracket member and means for adjustably connecting said forward end of said track-bar to said bracket member to determine the angular position of said trackbar relative to the doorway, a tractor member movable back and forth upon said track-bar, actuator bars pivotally interconnected between said doors and said tractor member, latch members carried by said tractor member, said track-bar having means engageable by said latch members, a lock tumbler also carried by said tractor member and interconnected with said latch members so as to be movable therewith, said lock tumbler being arranged to interlcck with a latch member occupying operative latched relation to said track bar, to hold the same against accidental displacement therefrom, and flexible pull means for operating said tractor member and its latch members.

2. In a remote control means for doors, a track-bar, a tractor member reciprocable on said track-bar, an actuator connected between said tractor member and a door, latch members carried by said tractor member, said track-bar having means engageable by said latch member, a lock-tumbler also carried by said tractor member and interconnected with said latch members so as to be movable therewith, said lock tumbler being adapted to move into interlocked engagement with the particular latch member disposed in latched relation to the track-bar to hold the same against accidental displacement therefrom, and pull means for operating said tractor member and its latch members.

3. Door opening and closing means comprising, a track-bar, a tractor member movable back and forth on said track-bar, door actuator bars connected with and operated by said tractor member, said tractor member having latch members pivotally mounted at each end thereof, said track-bar having receiving sockets engageable by said latch members, a lock tumbler pivotally mounted on said tractor member between said latch members, said latch members having means engageable by said lock-tumbler to keep the former in latched engagement with said whereby operative relative movements thereof are eiected, pull means for operating said tractor member and its latch members.

4. Door opening and closing means comprising, a track-bar, a tractor memberrhaving door actuating means, said tractor member having traction wheels to ride on said track-bar, latch members pivotally connected respectively at the forward and rearward ends of said tractor member, said track-bar having receiving sockets respectively engageable by said'latch-members, an upwardly projecting lock tumbler pivotally connected with said tractor member between said latch members weighted so as to be held by gravity in engagement with one or the otherrof said latch members, each latch member having a stop shoulder, said lock tumbler having cppositely projecting locking arms to cooperate with said latch member stop shoulders, link connections between said latch members and lock tumbler whereby operative relative movements thereof are effected, and pullmeans for operating said tractor member and its latch members.

5. In a remote control mechanism for double swinging doors of a doorway, a track-bar having a pivotally supported rear end portion, a tractor member movable back and forth upon said track-bar, actuator bars pivotally interconnected between said doors and said tractor member, pull means for operating said tractor member, a bracket member to support the forward end portion of said track-bar, and means to selectively connect said track-bar to said bracket'member to dispose the same centrally for equal opening swing of the actuated doors or to dispose the track-bar angularly inclined toward one door or the other to swing a desired door more widely open than the other.

JOHN C. BEHNKE. 

